"Ah, Mom, stop nagging!"

"And when you've finished sweeping the storeroom, straighten up the magazine
rack!"

This website defends and promotes nagging.

Nagging is the foundation of Civilization.

Without nagging, life collapses into chaos and poverty.

Without nagging, cockroaches and hairballs take over the planet.

Without nagging, the Free Market, Liberty, Democracy, the Rule of Law, a Robust
Economy, and iPods are impossible.

Without nagging -- at home, at school, at work, in church, driving your car --
jackbooted thugs will demand your papers and push you around.

Why "Tolerance" Causes Poverty and Tyranny

Everybody is saying we should be more "tolerant."
Conservatives -- especially -- are judgmental.
But poverty is bad, and tyranny is bad, and we should nag each other so we never forget.

Laissez-faire capitalism says to the government,
"Let the Free Market alone!" Libertarians propose dramatic cuts in government. Their
goal is not simply to eliminate "the
government." Actually, Libertarians believe in MORE government than those who
support "the government." We believe in replacing "the
government" with "self
government." We believe in

replacing a nation of thieves and slaves ruled by a
few in "the government"

with a nation of producers and responsible
Americans who govern themselves.

Limited
Government Requires MORE Government
"Self-Government" Means More
Government
Smaller Government Won't Happen Without More Nagging

Those who support increased power for the State and resist calls for Laissez-Faire
Capitalism usually do so because they are concerned about the cultural effects of
increasing numbers of people who do not understand the principles of liberty upon which
America was founded, and who are easily manipulated by fascist or socialist
demagogues.

Here's how self-government works to protect American values better than a
bigger, more intrusive federal government.

Let’s consider the question of
immigration:

Rather than being met at the border by jack-booted gun-wielding federal immigration
authorities, immigrants should be met at the borders by voluntary
associations of friendly Americans who will offer American hospitality, job training,
values education and other works
of mercy which will help the immigrants carry on great American libertarian
traditions.

Once settled in America, there are continuing opportunities for self-governing
Americans to help new arrivals become great citizens:

Families: Children who are not victims of government schooling and who have been
trained to appreciate America's libertarian values can pass these values on to their
neighborhood playmates who come from foreign lands. American parents have always been
careful to know who their children play with, and always make an effort to meet the
parents of their children's playmates and invite them to learn more about our culture.

Employers should actively seek out new arrivals to America and hire them,
showing them how American employers appreciate the loyalty, hard-work, creativity and
dedication which characterize most immigrants, and how generous American employers are in
the wages they pay and benefits they offer. Lunchtime Bible studies and employee training
sessions can pass on America's cultural values.

Landlords should rent to immigrants and help them become self-governing tenants,
thus passing on American respect for property. Weekend classes in property management,
concern for the environment, and household budgeting can be required of tenants in rental
agreements.

Merchants should seek out immigrants and deal fairly with them, explaining to
them how American capitalism rewards both buyer and seller in a voluntary exchange, and
how capitalism has made America a more prosperous nation than the nation from which the
customer has emigrated.

Media sources which propagate anti-American values should be boycotted.
Americans should invite immigrants to join them in viewing movies, television, plays,
concerts, and other events which transmit American values. Americans should invite
immigrants to neighborhood reading circles in which great American books are read
and discussed. Americans should host ESL classes (English as a Second Language) in
their homes. Parents are qualified to teach their children English; immigrants often
bring a child-like love of learning.

Immigrants who commit crimes should be responded to in the same way we respond to
natural-born Americans who commit crimes.

It is only because Americans are no longer self-governing that they appeal to
"the government" to use armed force against immigrants. This desire for
increased government power is lazy, unAmerican, and anti-Christian.

Let’s run through this list again in consideration of other more serious forms of
crime. These considerations apply to all forms of crime such as theft, or any form of
property damage, as well as to other crimes which “Christian Reconstructionists” are
quick to demand criminal (State) sanctions: homosexuality, adultery, or even idolatry. “Punishment”
is their by-word.

Keep in mind that Biblical Law has no place for prisons,
but demands restitution. The victim is to be made whole by the offender. How
can the offender be pressured to make restitution if there is no “government”
threatening him with prison or fines? (Not
that this helps the victim in any way; indeed, victims are taxed to warehouse criminals.)

Families: The Founding Fathers agreed that religion and morality were chiefly
responsible for creating a population that respected God’s Law. Schools continued this
tradition. It is a grave error to believe that the State can keep crime rates low by
outlawing the teaching of religion and morality in schools while appropriating billions of
dollars to a growing “prison industry.”

Peer pressure is more potent an educator than teachers, at least in modern public
schools. Children who are not victims of government schooling and who have been trained to
appreciate America's libertarian values can pass these values on to their neighborhood
playmates who come from non-Christian homes. American parents have always been careful to
know who their children play with, and always make an effort to meet the parents of their
children's playmates and invite them to learn more about God’s Law. Sometimes children
have been known to have a dramatic impact on their parents. Christian families can teach
Godly values to neighborhood children, who may have an effect on their parents.

If a parent finds out that a child has committed theft or property damage, that parent
should require the child to make restitution. This applies to children of any age (Deuteronomy
21:18-21). Adult children should be evicted, and ultimately disinherited. In too many
cases, older children who commit crimes have parents who subsidize their criminal lives.

Employers should penalize employees who have committed crimes. Paychecks should
be garnished to pay restitution to victims. Unrepentant employees should be fired.
Recidivist criminals tend not to seek gainful employment, but before they become
recidivists, the threat of unemployment is a strong incentive to avoid crime or undo the
damage done by criminal acts. Lunchtime Bible studies and employee training sessions can
pass on the values of Biblical Law.

Landlords should evict unrepentant criminals. Weekend classes in property
management, concern for the environment, and household budgeting can be required of
tenants in rental agreements. Such actions maximize respect for property and minimize
crime.

Insurance Agencies will not insure property unless it is protected with a
network of contracts that require restitution both on the part of the insured and those
with whom the insured deals.

Merchants should not sell to those who have committed crimes and have not made
restitution. Criminals should find it very hard to live in a Christian society until they
repudiate a life of crime and commit to making amends for past acts of crime.

Teachers should pass on Biblical values to their students, even in classes that
do not directly teach social and cultural subjects. Like the Apostles (Acts
5:29), teachers should defy court
orders prohibiting a discussion of American values before and after school, and at
lunch. Schools should evict students who do not make restitution.

Non-profit associations should pick up the hard cases from schools and other
institutions. Intensive “brainwashing” may be necessary to fill the character void and
reverse years of bad habits and unbiblical thinking.

Media sources which propagate anti-American values should be boycotted.
Americans should invite the lost to join them in viewing movies, television, plays,
concerts, and other events which transmit Biblical values. Americans should invite at-risk
children and adults to neighborhood reading circles in which great American books
are read and discussed. Media sources should adversely publicize those who do not respect
life, liberty or property. The internet should have plenty of sites which catalog those
who have been disinherited, evicted, boycotted, excommunicated, etc. Public shame is a
strong source of social order. (Daniel B. Klein, Reputation:
Studies in the Voluntary Elicitation of Good Conduct (Economics, Cognition, and Society),University of Michigan Press, 1997)

The strongest criticism of this proposal is likely to come not from Christians who
oppose anarchism, but homosexuals who oppose Christian culture. When these “private,”
non-political institutions are vigilant and Biblical, there is far less “liberty” for
criminals than when the State is functioning “properly” but family, church, school,
business, and voluntary associations are dormant. The forces of unrighteousness are far
more likely to complain that people are trying to “impose their religion” on them than
when these institutions are silent and hope a strong centralized State will speak out
against evil. In short, a society is well-governed when “the government” no longer
exists. This is not “utopian,” this is an ethical imperative.

Actually, as Bruce Benson has shown, private response to crime has historically been
the norm:

The historical reality of crime policy
is that public [state] provision of criminal justice is a recent social experiment that
has not worked as predicted. The increasing role of private security that we see today is
actually a return to historical practices rather than something new, although private
sector institutions and technologies have changed dramatically as entrepreneurs have
discovered new ways to deliver the desired protection. . . . One survey
indicates that nearly half of all business security managers investigate and resolve
employee thefts within the business organization without ever reporting the crime.To
Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice (Political Economy
of the Austrian School Series)

When all these social institutions are functioning properly, there is
no need for the IRS, the INS, the DEA, or other fascist agencies.

History gives numerous examples of how theft, fraud, and other
crimes can be dealt with in societies without socialism. Details
here.

Culture

Nagging in American History

America became the greatest and most admired nation in the history of the world because
we were a nation of naggers. Society was judgmental, intolerant, and constantly
nagging everyone to work hard, be respectful, and don't hit your sister.

Today, we're much more "tolerant," and nobody is allowed to nag. As a result,
people are lazy, disrespectful, and your sister gets beat up by her pimp.

Let's listen to some voices from the past, to see how nagging creates utopia.

Libertarianism is not a society without order. It is a society ordered from the bottom
up rather than the top down. Among the most important sources of social order are
"voluntary associations."

Democrats and Republicans are both advocating more power for Washington, D.C. This is
not a new approach. In the early 1820's, America was experiencing a tremendous influx of
immigrants. Alexis de Tocqueville was a
French observer who doubted whether America could retain her admirable character with
all these immigrants. DeTocqueville said only armed force could deal with the
immigrants. But Christians in the America of that day believed that "the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2
Corinthians 10:3-5). Early American Christians sent an
army of missionaries to deal with pressing social issues.

R.J. Rushdoony provides the following insights into DeTocqueville's day:

At [this] time, the United States was facing potentially revolutionary
changes. The great influx of immigrants was beginning; people were pouring
into the country who had little or no knowledge of its faith or heritage. They
were simply seeking escape from tyranny and poverty and a better life for
themselves.

In an important footnote, [Alexis de Tocqueville]
saw the grim problem of the urban slums and their alien and criminal elements,
declaring:

The United States have no metropolis; but they
already contain several very large cities. Philadelphia reckoned 161,000
inhabitants and New York 202,000 in the year 1830. The lower orders which
inhabit these cities constitute a rubble even more formidable than the
populace of European towns. They consist of freed blacks in the first place,
who are condemned by the laws and by public opinion, to an hereditary state
of misery and degradation. They also contain a multitude of Europeans who
have been driven to the shores of the New World by their misfortunes or
their misconduct; and these men inoculate the United States with all our
vices, without bringing with them any of those interests which counteract
their baneful influence. As inhabitants of a country where they have no
civil rights, they are ready to turn all the passions which agitate the
community to their own advantage; thus, within the last few months serious
riots have broken out in Philadelphia and in New York. Disturbances of this
kind are unknown in the rest of the country, which is nowise alarmed by
them, because the population of the cities has hitherto exercised neither
power nor influence over the rural districts.

Nevertheless, I look upon the size of certain American cities, and
especially on the nature of their population, as a real danger which
threatens the future security of the democratic republics of the New World;
and I venture to predict that they will perish from this circumstance,
unless the government succeed in creating
an armed force, which, while it remains under the control of the
majority of the nation, will be independent of the town population, and able
to repress its excesses.
(Democracy in America, I:316f., Langley ed.)

Unwed pregnant girls were often disposed of in Europe by buying them a one-way
ticket to America, for them there to seek their ostensible level, usually
prostitution. "Black sheep" sons were also sent off to the United
States, or ran off to it. . . .

The reaction of some conservatives was political and repressive. . . .

Tocqueville felt that that United States would surely "perish"
under this invasion 'unless the government succeed in creating an armed force
. . . independent of the town population' and able to control it. . . .

Hostility toward foreigners led to the creation of various "native
American" movements and political bodies. These organizations fed on
hatred for outsiders and stimulated it by highly emotional charges and claims.
More than a little violence was unleashed against various immigrant groups.

These organizations not only did not accomplish their purpose, but also did
much damage to American life.

The orthodox Christian reaction was very different. A wide variety of
societies were created to minister to the new problems: Sabbath Schools for
immigrant children and Christian day schools as well were created; English was
taught to adults; missions were started; orphanages, relief societies, Bible
societies, societies to deal with various vices, these and hundreds of other
organizations were established to deal with every kind of problem which arose.
The future of America was shaped by this massive effort at Christian
reconstruction. The "native American" movement failed; the Christian
reconstruction was so extensive that it became the real government of American
society. . . . Alexis de Tocqueville, in commenting on the impact of
non-ecclesiastical, societal Christianity on America, noted that authority in
America was religious and that "there is no country in the whole world in
which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men
than in America." (op cit., I:332)

The 'Native American' movements did much harm to American life. They were
noisy in their claims that they represented "real Americanism," but
they were at best a neutralizing force to progress and Christianity. At their
worst, they were anti-Christian and un-American in the name of Christ and
America. By claiming to be the conservative force -- which they were not, for
they had no appreciation for their puritan heritage -- they brought discredit
on that heritage.

On the other hand, orthodox Christians, by their zeal to bring every man
under the renewing power of God, did more than anyone else to cope with the
central problems of American life. . . .

Christianity in the 21st century is a narcotic. It is a me-centered
"feel-good" religion. Too many Christians advocate more power for the federal
government, the creation of "armed forces," and neglect the creation of
voluntary associations and missions organizations which made America a great and Christian
nation. These Christians want to "restore America" by creating a federal
government vastly more powerful than the one created by Christians in the late 1700's. The
coming America will not resemble the America of our Founding Fathers.

The civil government under the Founding Fathers publicly and officially ENCOURAGED
these Christian "societies" -- they did not take the position of contemporary
church-state jurisprudence, which says that government must never "endorse"
or encourage Christian solutions
to social problems like illiteracy
and immorality.

As the New Hampshire Constitution, Art 1, sec. 6, "Bill of Rights" said,

As morality and piety
rightly grounded on evangelical principles will give the best and greatest security to
government and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to due
subjection; and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propagated through a
society by the institution of the public worship of the Deity and of public instruction
in morality and religion; therefore, to promote these important purposes, the people of
this State have a right to empower, and do hereby fully empower, the legislature to
authorize, from time to time, the several towns, parishes, bodies corporate, or
religious societies within this State to make adequate provision at their own
expense for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety,
religion, and morality.

America was made great by Christian charity, and the Constitution did not abolish or
prohibit this.

We cannot approve, however, of "faith-based" governmental appropriations.
Appropriations should come voluntarily from the wallets of Americans, not from the barrel
of a gun and seized by the IRS.

Secular
Humanism has been imposed on America in an unconstitutional manner, and charity has
also been crippled.

An important book is Marvin Olasky, The Tragedy of American Compassion. He
details how early America was dominated by voluntary associations and
"societies," such as "The Salem Society for the Moral and Religious
Instruction of the Poor."

I have already posted excerpts from Cremin's authoritative history of education, which
discusses the tremendous influence upon education these societies had. There were many,
many such societies, and they met an urgent need.

Notice that de Tocqueville said, "The United States have
no metropolis; but they already contain several very large cities." It was
common in de Tocqueville's day to use plural verbs to speak of the United States -- as in,
"The United States are a great source of inspiration to those who love
Liberty Under God" -- because the United States was a union of sovereign
States, and the Constitution acknowledged the sovereignty of those States. In our day the
federal government has ignored the Constitution and the original
intent of its Framers, and has almost completely eliminated "states'
rights." It seems that its main purpose is to protect its own power, and further
centralize power over the states. "The United States is no longer an
inspiration to those who love Liberty Under God."